Precision
by stillbluewater
Summary: Sakura had always been weak. She didn't know if she had ever wanted to be strong. Then the mission to Wave happened, and everything changes.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

* * *

The rain fell gently around her, muting her senses down to the cold settling in. Absently, she brushed back a lock of wet hair, letting her hand fall back down. Up on her roof, she could see everything—the whole village laid out before her. The streets had emptied a long time ago, and the vendors had all gone home. In that moment, it felt like Sakura was the only person in the village.

Sakura didn't know what to think anymore.

The mission to Wave was the closest she had come to death, and it deeply unsettled her. While Naruto and Sasuke fought without hesitation, she had been paralyzed. She had been useless. Weak.

She watched the sea of lights before her, watched a village she had lived in all her life, and she didn't know what to think anymore. She had never felt so lost.

A chuunin patrol passed silently by, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. In a few seconds, they were out of sight. Sakura sighed. She had no true skills to speak of, not like Sasuke who had his sharingan, or Naruto who had shadow clones. All the same, she smiled faintly as she remembered their shocked looks when she had walked up the tree when they couldn't get a few steps.

She stared at the opposite roof of her neighbor, watching the rain drip down. She imagined vaulting over the gap, landing soundlessly like the chuunin. She imagined she kept going, over the looming village walls, but she recoiled from the thought. Konoha was all she'd ever known. But she had had no sleep, it was three in the morning, and it seemed a great idea, if only just to jump to her neighbor's roof. She had seen how using too much chakra blasted Naruto off the tree. Experimentally, she pushed up from her sitting position, pumping chakra to her hands…and almost fell off the roof.

Okay, she thought.

She stood up, took two steps back, and before she could think any more about it, pushed chakra to her feet and took a running leap across the three meter gap. Her jump took her over. She was smiling so wide her cheeks hurt, and her heart was pounding with exhilaration. But her momentum carried her on, and she couldn't stop, the next roof was a step away—

She barely made it, landing in a relieved heap.

"I did it," She breathed out. "I did it!" Sakura and Inner Sakura pumped their fists.

Then, adrenaline still pumping through her veins, she did it again. And again and again and again, until the stars disappeared and the sunrise lit the sky.

* * *

.

A/N: Thanks for reading my first fic! I promise it will get better, so please give Chapter 2 a try ^^

Pls review! Think this fic is ok/has potential/is cringy? Shoot me a comment :D


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura's hair flopped up and down in the early morning light as she continued to jump, in a clearing deep in the Konoha forest. It was near enough from Team Seven's meeting place that she could easily jog over, but far enough that there was no risk of being discovered by Naruto, or, kami forbid, Sasuke. Every jump took her higher and higher, but at one meter she fell forwards and barely avoided face planting into a bush. Inner Sakura shrieked in horror at the possibility of scarring her face.

Ever since that night after Wave, Sakura had been burning through chakra control exercises by the dozen. With every exercise she mastered, she felt less weak, and more like a true ninja. It didn't hurt that her chakra reserves were expanding. Even Inner Sakura seemed happier, and yells of _Shannaro!_ happened several times a day.

Restarting her exercise, she got to eight meters before she broke concentration. By the end of the week, she was able to jump over twenty meters to the top of the forest canopy.

* * *

Sakura was sleeping. Again. Sasuke didn't want to appear to care enough to ask, but even Naruto started to squint in suspicion. As if in response, her snoring grew louder. Sasuke's eye twitched. Kakashi better get there soon.

* * *

For the fifteenth time since that night, Sakura chakra-walked to the roof. A rising wind pulled her hair back from her face and carried the sweet, fresh scent of rain. Overhead, the pale light of the moon shone down from among a field of stars. The roof was rapidly becoming Sakura's favorite place. Here she had no obligations to anyone, and it felt like a weight off her shoulders.

Here, she had been at her lowest. Here, she could only get better. And for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace with herself.

Self-reflection done, Sakura reached eagerly into her pouch for her newest scroll of chakra control exercises, and settled down for another long night.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan! Hey Sakura-chan, how come you're always sleeping these days?" Naruto whined the next morning. "You talk even less than Sasuke, and I didn't even think that was possible!"

"Hn," the Uchiha interjected.

Naruto swung his arms in Sasuke's direction. "You see! Even _he_ agreed!"

The bags under Sakura's eyes deepened and her eyes grew blank as she smiled, and it gave her face an especially creepy lighting. "Ah, it's fine! I'm fine, Naruto, Sasuke." She glanced at Sasuke with pink cheeks. With the sleepless look, the blush seemed even more terrifying and out of place.

Both Naruto and Sasuke shuddered and inched closer to each other, away from the now sleeping Sakura.

* * *

 _Thunk. Step step step. Thunk. Step step step. Thunk—_

Sakura sprinted along Konoha's rooftops, all identifying features covered, waking up a string of people along the way. She could swear she was getting quieter, but recently there have been a lot of people on the streets complaining about being woken up at "ass o'clock in the morning," as that one civilian lady said.

That same lady had also been screeching and chasing her for several blocks now, as she had been for the past week. Sakura thought she had to have been a former ninja or something. The lady also had to be related to some fruit vendor, to supply her with the tomatoes she almost got pelted with. Sasuke would have been devastated to see the waste.

She bent over backwards to avoid another tomato. Inner was spitting fire at this point. Outside, Sakura sweatdropped. All the same, she vaulted into the next street, startling a certain youthful member of Team Ten.

A mere second later, the lady appeared around the corner, and Sakura had to execute a quick dash on the wall to avoid her. Another hop to the roof spared her from another tomato. It took her another few blocks before she noticed a green blur beside her. He gave her a blinding grin and a thumbs up.

"Yosh! I am Lee! Let us be youthful rivals!" And he dashed ahead.

"Uh," Sakura said intelligently. What just happened? She was promptly taken over by Inner. "I don't care who you are, I won't lose to you, shannaro!"

Every day after that, two genin could be seen dodging tomatoes on their morning run.

* * *

.

A/N: Hello! Thanks for giving this fic a chance. It's my first fic, so I'm still figuring some stuff out ;-; sorry if the format changes/gets super weird.

Any comments are welcome! Think this fic has potential/is cringy/is ok? Shoot me a comment! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura perched on the head of the Nidaime, dangling her legs over his stone faceguard. Her chakra was spread thin over the entire Hokage Monument, as part of another exercise. It was a testament to how far she'd gotten that it had only taken a fraction of her chakra when a month ago she would have passed out from chakra exhaustion.

At the same time, she was practicing an area effect genjutsu to hide her presence. The two exercises were especially effective used together—the key to area effect genjutsu, she had realized, was to spread a layer of chakra, then manipulate that layer. Like with the stone she sat on, every detail had a different feel to it. The first few days after learning it, she had spread her chakra over absolutely everything—from the delicious to the boring to the truly disgusting—learning all the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and even sounds. The more she chakra-sensed, the more intricate and realistic her genjutsu became.

Standing abruptly, Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Throughout the week, she had practiced extensively on a whole class of poor academy students to prepare for today. When she opened her eyes, they were alight with mischief. Then, she quickly slipped away.

* * *

The people were still half awake and half asleep in the early morning when they saw it. The four Kage, in full makeup: eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, contouring and blush. Several villagers had burst out laughing. Naruto and Sasuke shared a disbelieving glance—Sasuke with suspicion, and Naruto with admiration.

In the end, it took a genin team (Team Seven) an entire morning of scrubbing and a chuunin an entire morning of head scratching when a passing jounin (Kakashi) realized it was a genjutsu. And just as a genjutsu expert arrived, the makeup mysteriously disappeared.

Sakura concentrated on looking innocent. But she thought the Nidaime's smoky eye was pretty on point, if she did say so herself.

* * *

After the fiasco when Kakashi had shoved off to places unknown, Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously turned to Sakura. Sasuke spoke first.

"Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun?" She asked, bemused, because for once it wasn't a one-sided conversation. Inner, though, was jumping up and down in excitement. _Say something, shannaro!_

Sasuke paused. Stared. Paused again. Naruto poked him, and he seemed to struggle with himself, then, bluntly, staring at the bridge: "The genjutsu was yours." His eyes flicked up to hers. To be honest, Sakura didn't think anyone would notice. Least of all Sasuke. She shouldn't react, but—

She gave him her best rendition of his own superior smirk.

She didn't expect him to say—

"Train with me. And Naruto too."

* * *

Sakura didn't understand her team. Not really.

She saw the subtle looks Naruto got in the streets, the silence when he approached and the whispers when he left. She remembered vaulting over a roof, past the Uchiha compound, dark and forgotten and isolated on the very edge of the village. And every day her team returned to an empty home and only their thoughts to keep them company.

They knew, too, that every day she returned to a warm hug and a family. Sakura was different because she had never known pain. But they were her team, and _those who abandon their teammates are lower than scum_.

So when Sasuke asked, she answered with the same honesty and dignity that, for the first time, he had given to her.

* * *

Sakura jumped up just in time to dodge a great fireball jutsu. The Naruto clones behind her weren't so lucky. Once again, she spread her chakra to hide herself as a fresh wave of Narutos rushed towards Sasuke. She sighed and tried to catch her breath. She didn't know how, but what had started as a spar had rapidly devolved into a three-way free for all. And going by her singed hair and low chakra, she was the weakest by far.

Well. It wasn't like that was anything new.

To further add insult to injury, the nature of the sharingan allowed Sasuke to see through her genjutsu more often than not—it was the details, he said, like _something_ was wrong. But he couldn't say what it was exactly. At least Naruto always fell for it. Sakura wanted to tear her hair out in frustration if not for it being lit on fire right then. Letting loose a spray of shuriken, she dove back into the battle.

* * *

Sakura was in a great mood. She had finally, finally evened out her score with Lee's; it was now 13 to 13. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she fist pumped and jumped into the air.

"Shannaro!" She was starting off her morning _right_.

That morning turned to midday, and Kakashi gave them the forms for the chuunin exams. By an unspoken agreement, Team Seven completed it right then and there. They went out for ramen afterwards.

* * *

.

A/N: So here's some more characterization and team seven. Probably chuunin exams next chap (lowkey so excited), so that's something to look forward to.

There are so many things that frustrate me about this fic, namely characterization and the really short scenes ;-; but I think this chap is still better than chap 2.

It's been super cool though bc writing a fic you have to account for so many things, and rereading other more successful fics you start to analyze how they write and it's honestly so rewarding. Also the reviews I get are just so satisfying bc first of all a review! and secondly it's a fresh new perspective. So thanks everyone!

.

Haha yeah so if you liked this fic, hated this fic, or cringed at this fic, please leave a review! :D


	4. Chapter 4

"Sasuke-kun, look at this again."

"The sunlight's too weak."

"Hey, Sasuke-kun—"

"It's too cold. The temperature shouldn't drop that much."

"Oi, Sasuke-teme."

"Louder. The dobe is more obnoxious than that."

"Hn."

"No, just no. Sakura, stop copying me. I do not pout like that. Sakura."

The genjutsu Sasuke let out a giggle. The actual Sasuke winced and glared. Giving up, Sakura dispelled her chakra. They had been waiting for Naruto for half an hour, and she was dead bored. Sasuke's face showed no such feeling. In fact, his face didn't show any feeling.

Sakura fell silent. She turned to look at him. His impassive features, while classically handsome, looked increasingly like an expression of defeat. Back then, one look from him would have toppled a wave of girls, herself included.

But back then, she had never seen him otherwise. She'd never seen him frown in concentration, or how he stuffed his face with tomatoes, or his pale, pained look as he bent over cleaning toilets (a particularly memorable mission). For so long she had held him up as an ideal. But gradually, he had become her arrogant and stubborn (but no less precious) friend.

They sat in silence, waiting for Naruto.

It was him she always saw first. When she was still bullied and he was still an outcast, Naruto had still filled the room with his confidence, his determination. She would never, ever tell anyone, but it was at that time Inner first spoke to her, brash and prideful, unwilling to give up. And then Ino came, and Inner quieted, fading into the background until they split and Sakura was once again on her own (but she could always count on herself).

So it was that she and Naruto were similar in a lot of ways. They both talked a mile a minute, were overzealous in their efforts to protect what they loved (see: Naruto pursing Sakura pursuing Sasuke).

Sasuke sighed. He was already regretting his decision to tolerate Sakura. Who was now casting genjutsu of him. Again.

* * *

Once Naruto arrived, Team Seven filed their paperwork at the academy, where they bypassed their first genjutsu. A genin by the name of Rock Lee had insisted on fighting Sasuke, won, then asked out Sakura. She was understandably and incredibly against it, as she should be. Naruto nodded sagely. Not even he himself, the future Hokage, had gotten a date.

* * *

Inside the exam room, everyone started cheating. Almost everyone. Sakura solved the problems with ease. Sasuke copied her movements. Naruto started sweating.

* * *

In the Forest of Death, Sakura immediately spread a layer of chakra, and had to stop herself from squealing immediately after. Sasuke and Naruto shot her weird looks.

Defensively, she whispered, "Don't judge. It feels like the inside of a toilet in here."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and Naruto, who had been about to touch something, snatched his hand back.

They traveled on.

* * *

Naruto returned, reciting the password perfectly. But it was no longer him. And then Sasuke and Sakura were dying.

* * *

She was paralyzed with fear. But she…wasn't dead? There were two kunai slicing through the air, impossibly fast. And Sakura was faced with a split second decision—she chose to live. In that moment, she fell back and Inner surged forward, shuriken flying to deflect the kunai. She stepped in front of Sasuke, genjutsu flaring as a thousand more shuriken flung themselves at the enemy nin.

She glanced at Sasuke. He met her eyes evenly, and then they sprang apart. A wave of chakra distorted his real location and Sasuke's fire bloomed around the nin.

Silence. Smoke. Then, chilling laughter.

Inner Sakura dropped down, landing on a lower branch. She kept running as a massive snake summons closed its jaws around the branch. Down another branch as it splintered off. Rebound. Kunai out, she slid down the length of the snake, scoring a bloody path and the summons exploded in steam.

Sasuke dove forwards, past the enemy's guard, landing a glancing blow before retreating again. He centered himself, reverting to the rhythm of the Uchiha clan taijutsu. One, two. One, two. Set the ambush. Wind the ninja wire. One, two, a deep breath—then rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger—release. Fire release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

When the smoke cleared, the Kusagakure nin was still standing.

* * *

Silently, Sasuke cursed. If the nin wasn't after their scroll, then why even fight them at all? He cursed even more when the summons took a sudden dive towards him. He could only brace himself, but the impact never came. Instead, he was face to face with Naruto, who had stopped the snake in its path by himself.

Naruto raised his head, scoffed, "Are you scared?"

And Sasuke didn't answer, _couldn't_ answer, because Naruto was right. He was scared. But if he backed down so quickly against a _genin_ , he would never surpass Itachi. As he watched, wide eyed, Naruto nearly blurred in speed as he faced the nin, barely giving the other enough time to counter—

In a swift jab, Naruto was unconscious, falling and falling. With a _thunk_ , Sakura's kunai caught Naruto's jacket, pinning him, still unconscious, to the tree.

Sasuke turned back to the nin, whose face shot towards him. _When did he get this fast?_

The last thing he remembered was all-consuming, excruciating pain.

* * *

Inner Sakura landed at Sasuke's side. She grimaced. Just her luck, that he was also unconscious.

The nin who had called himself Orochimaru had disappeared. She spread her chakra. He was nowhere to be found. Tentatively, the Sakura who had been hidden away inside her mind peeked out, and recoiled in horror at what she saw. But Inner Sakura had less capacity to feel pity or even loss—only aggression and determination. So she nudged back her fragile outer self once more, and set to work.

* * *

Inner had hoisted both her teammates up, positioning each over one shoulder with her arms around their waists. She had been using half her remaining chakra for speed—it wouldn't have been good to stay, especially after everyone had heard the battle. There would be an influx of teams looking for easy pickings.

The other half of her chakra she used for genjutsu—to disguise her and her teammates. It was almost dark, and she still had a long way to go, but if she could reach the tower first, she could get help. She could avoid all the teams that had stayed behind to rest, sabotage, or kill. More importantly, she could relieve another team of their own scroll.

She increased her pace. Time was of the essence.

* * *

.

A/N: The chuunin exams! As promised. Kind of, because this is only the first part. But I will probably update in a day or two, so don't worry!

For this fic, I liked how the characterization came out (thanks for the tips!), I disliked how long the scene with Orochimaru dragged out, and my hope for the future is to get better at fight scenes.

Also, to write this chapter, I rewatched parts of the chuunin exams arc. It was surprising how much I liked it, and I appreciated the fight scenes a lot more lol.

Please review! Think this fic is ok/cringy/has potential? Drop a review :D


	5. Chapter 5

Inner Sakura woke abruptly. Someone was near.

She slipped past her genjutsu, lingering a hand on Sasuke's forehead. She frowned. He was still burning up with fever.

Once outside, she immediately tensed. A team of Sound genin were up in the trees above. They seemed to be searching for something. As she got closer, she heard one say, "They should be close. Orochimaru-sama was certain that they wouldn't get far."

"Ugh. How do we know the Uchiha isn't dead already? His team would move quicker if they had abandoned him."

That was enough, Inner decided. Somehow these genin knew about Orochimaru, and there was a possibility of Sasuke's death. With a few handsigns, the Sound team turned as they heard the rustle and then saw pink hair fade as someone dashed into the trees. They rushed to pursue.

Behind them, Inner Sakura smirked.

She led them through several circles, making sure they only glimpsed a lock of hair or the corner of a red dress. They never noticed that the fleeing girl left no footprints.

On the chase, the three tried many times to use their own sound based attacks. The false Sakura always stumbled, but got back up before they had a chance to catch her.

A shock of yellow hair and a flash of red eyes, and the Sound team split up. When she had lead the other two far enough, she blanketed the area in genjutsu, making it seem as if the genin was never there. A Demonic Illusions Jutsu took care of the girl, who she stripped of all weapons and hidden accessories, then tied up. She searched out the other genin, then did the same with him.

However, as she approached the third genin, a wave of dizziness overcame her. He was suddenly a lot closer, and he took painful grip of her hair, pressing a kunai to her throat.

"You've been following us this whole time, haven't you? I would have let you go," here, he gave the most insincere laugh Inner had ever heard. "I won't ask again, because Orochimaru-sama tolerates no failures. Where is Uchiha Sasuke?"

Yet he gave no mention of his teammates. Inner let out an internal sigh of relief. She let her head dangle down, as if in defeat. She pulsed her chakra. All sound became muted, and her sense of touch disappeared. Bringing her arm up, she elbowed him in the crotch, swung it in a reverse through her captured hair, and disappeared. She could see him trying to use his genjutsu, but that was all she was affected by it—and his genjutsu was not based on sight. A quick chop to the back of the neck felled him easily.

Rifling through his pouch, Inner found a wonderful surprise—a heaven scroll. Just the one she needed.

* * *

Scrolls complete, Inner was once again pushing her speed to the tower. Once there, she opened both scrolls, and to her relief, out came Iruka. His expression immediately changed to concern once he noticed the unconscious boys, and Iruka flooded her with questions. Inner explained all that she could, and, her duty done, promptly passed out.

* * *

When she woke again, it was Sakura at the helm of her mind once more. She couldn't express how grateful she was to Inner for having taken over when she did. When Sakura herself had still been overcome with the shock of death and pain and killing intent. She had settled beside Inner, watching through her eyes and aiding Inner with genjutsu, and it had felt like they were teammates too.

A tap on her shoulder shifted her focus.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Lightning fast, and before she could react, the jounin's hand patted her head, swirling up her too-short hair. Sakura stood still, unsure how to react.

Kakashi merely gave her an eye-smile, but his posture was straight ( _for once in his life_ , said Inner) and he lingered, as if hesitant to say something. The silence stretched between them.

"Sakura, you've grown."

Seemingly relieved, he promptly reverted to his old self. His Icha Icha appeared in his hand, and his hair flopped forward as he returned to his slouch.

"Maa, Sakura, why the long face? Can't a sensei congratulate his cute little genin once in a while?" Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"Well, we better get going—they've called all the genin. It's for the next part of the exam."

* * *

As the Sandaime talked, Sakura looked around. There were a lot of genin in the room. Her eyes caught on a ragged team glaring daggers at her. Huh. So the Sound team had made it after all. It seemed that Naruto and Sasuke had recovered as well.

The Sandaime ended his speech, and the one on one matches commenced. The different teams clustered together in the viewing area. Sasuke's match was first. Before he went up, he caught Sakura's worried look and gave her a brief, almost-imperceptible smile. Both Sakura and Inner smiled reflexively, shocked. Inner, peeved, added that he should be thankful that she had saved him. He had better win.

He did, if only barely.

One of the weaker Sound genin that she'd disarmed right away, Zaku Abumi, was defeated by Shino. Then, Sakura was up…against Ino.

She quietly regarded her former best friend. Ino hadn't changed. She had the same hairstyle, the same clothes, the same confidence—even the same pissed off yet determined expression. For some inexplicable reason, Sakura felt relieved. In this swiftly changing world, at least Ino had always remained the same. _Even if she was her rival_ , Inner added.

The proctor backed up. "Begin!"

Ino rushed towards her, fist aimed towards her solar plexus. Sakura twisted, let it connect with her shoulder. Even so, the force of the blow threw her backwards into the wall. In the confusion of the moment, Sakura started to form handseals. When Sakura got back up again, it was an illusion, shifted considerably to the right and appearing far closer.

The actual Sakura circled behind Ino as the genin sliced off her own hair. Inner winced. Maybe she had spoken too soon about her rival remaining the same. All the same, Ino may be a genin, but she was still a Yamanaka, and it wouldn't take her long to notice if they started fighting hand to hand. Sakura had to finish this quick. When Ino used her Mind-Body Switch Jutsu, casting her mind to who she though was Sakura, the real Sakura waited.

In the time it took Ino's mind to return, the proctor started counting. Sakura knelt by Ino's slumped form. And when Ino started to get up, Sakura put all her weight behind her, and pressed down. The proctor counted to three. Quickly, Sakura returned to the position her genjutsu had projected her in, then released it.

To all the spectators, she had only won by a stroke of luck. As for Sakura, she had just avoided revealing her number one technique.

Sakura jumped over the railing, beside her teammates. Naruto immediately started gushing. Sasuke and Kakashi stared at her knowingly. To keep up appearances, Sakura gave an embarrassed laugh, and grabbed the Sasuke's arm for good measure.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, how did I do?" Before he could back away, there was a shriek—

"OI, FOREHEAD!"

* * *

.

A/N: For some reason, these chapters keep getting longer ;-; There's more Sakura developing as a character though.

What I liked about this chapter was that the scenes were longer and less fragmented, what I disliked was how long-winded I got (and I don't know how to fix it or even if I could), and hopes for the future are to build more rapport between Team Seven and the Rookie Nine.

Have any thoughts about this fic? Please comment! All comments are very much appreciated, whether it's short and sweet or long and involved (and equally as sweet) :D


	6. Chapter 6

In her mind, it was silent. Her thoughts faded in and out, but what remained were the horror and the silence. The Chuunin Exams preliminaries, where the red had stained the tiled floor, the white sand, Hinata's pale face. The silence from Sakura, her words paralyzed in her throat. She thought that right then, if she opened her mouth, she would start screaming. So she kept her silence.

In her house, it was silent. But this silence was holding back so much, and eventually, it broke. From her bedroom, she could hear her parents, whispering turning to yelling, then into her mother's tears and her father's promise to talk to Sakura and to _please keep her from going down that path, that if not the family shop, then anything else would be ok, too._

Up on the roof, it was silent once again.

* * *

Every day, she left flowers for Lee. Her early morning runs afterwards were silent, and her quiet steps didn't attract the tomato lady anymore. All the same, she increased her fifty laps to one hundred, then two hundred, and she never missed a visit to Lee.

* * *

In the interim, Kakashi had congratulated his entire genin team, then took Sakura and Naruto aside. As one of ten passing genin, she had matched up with Dosu Kinuta, luckily one of the weaker genin. That didn't stop him from foisting them off onto this other (random!) teacher. Naruto was not pleased. Neither was the alleged pervert teacher.

Sakura still didn't say a word. Gaara was by far the most dangerous, and if she were Kakashi she would have focused on him as well. Because, sharingan or not, even she could see that at this state, Sasuke would end up same as Lee.

All the same, though, when Ebisu got knocked out in the bathhouse, she left him there. If he could teach the Hokage's grandson, he could take care of himself.

* * *

Jiraiya was…a different kind of teacher. Shameless, but he didn't seem to mind the two tagalong genin. Naruto's transformation jutsu definitely helped, but once, when she'd been berating Naruto as he laughed in embarrassment, she caught him looking at them with a fond yet forlorn look. Kakashi sometimes looked the same way. She wondered if tragedy was something that befell all shinobi eventually.

Now, though, he looked like he was going to rip his hair out.

"What is that?!" He shouted, pointing to the ground. Looking down, Sakura saw a very small tadpole. Naruto's face screwed up in offense.

"I don't know! Aren't you supposed to teach me to summon toad?"

"That's it!" Jiraiya pointed again.

"…I hate to tell you, ero-sennin, but that looks nothing like a toad."

Jiraiya sucked in another breath. "That's what a toad looks like—when it's only a month old!"

"Whaaaaaaaat! Why isn't it bigger?"

"That's how little chakra you used, brat! Concentrate! And don't come back until it at least has legs!" Naruto went back to summoning with a lot of grumbling.

Sakura leaned against the tree, watching from the shade. After a while, Jiraiya sat down next to her. They both watched as Naruto summoned one tadpole after another, screeching loudly every time. She supposed that this was Jiraiya taking the first step to taking on an apprentice, both for his sealing and to pass on the toad contract. The Chuunin Exams was the prime opportunity to test Naruto's worth. Sakura exhaled. So there would be little help forthcoming from here. Well, never let it be said that Sakura didn't do her research.

One month was too still too little time, and she had to find a teacher if she wanted to survive the final rounds.

"Sakura, right?" Jiraiya asked, still looking at the distant Naruto. "How did you stand that brat as your teammate for so long?" There was the amused annoyance, but also an undercurrent of something else. Something serious. Huh.

"Naruto…he acts dumb as rocks most of the time. It's annoying, yeah. But he's the most loyal person I've met."

Just then, Naruto dashed over, latest summon nestled in his cupped hands.

"See? It has legs now!"

Jiraiya turned to Sakura, handing her a slip. "Go to Training Ground 43. Ask for Kenichi, and tell him Jiraiya sends his regards."

* * *

Kenichi, it turned out, was like her in a lot of ways. For a jounin, he was only seven years older than her, and only an inch taller. His rank was impressive, given he was a child of civilians. His mission record was impeccable. His habits were nonexistent. Wait, what?

He was a two-line footnote in the fifth volume of _A History of Konoha Shinobi_ , not even mentioned in the bingo book, and nobody except Jiraiya had ever heard of him.

Not to mention Training Ground 43 didn't officially exist. It was right beside Training Ground 44, completely demolished, and by the rust and dust and history books, it had remained that way for several years. But by night, going by the stream of off duty ninja, Training Ground 43 was well and alive. And apparently, an underground fighting ring. Jiraiya's name and slip were the only reason she had gotten in.

Sakura had spent days and nights here, observing the ninja who seemed to disappear into thin air. She had walked over the same spot, once. Nothing. No chakra, no sign of anyone having been there at all. It took her an embarrassing amount of time to recognize the genjutsu. She slipped in, feeling exhausted. A wave of sounds rolled over her senses. There were ninja calling bets, throwing down cards, singing, drinking, and, beyond the initial cluster of people, sparring. In the distance were rows upon rows of massive chambers, built into the ground. Even from the entrance, she could hear the ringing of metal on metal. Ninja crowded around the chambers, placing more bets and waiting for their turn.

And Sakura thought with absolute certainty, _this is a place where I can overcome myself._

* * *

Kenichi, it turned out, was the champion of Training Ground 43. He had been one of the first to fight here, when it was just one room and he was just a genin. It was here that he first fought as a jounin. He had funded this place to its current state on his mission pay. Kenichi's only hobby was Training Ground 43, and Sakura didn't blame him in the least for it. But she didn't approach him. Not yet.

Sakura's first fight was against a chuunin. Simple hand to hand, no jutsu or weapons. There were no other genin there, and no one had even wanted to fight her. _Too weak_ , went unsaid in their polite dismissal.

She and the chuunin stood five meters apart. His stance was loose, but his feet were spread apart and his knees bent. He was waiting for her to make the first move.

She rushed forward past him, pivoting on one heel to duck low under his guard. He let himself fall to the side, leg sweeping out to catch her shin. In the distraction of that brief flare of pain, he pushed himself up off the ground, and caught her in a glancing right hook. Then two more, in quick succession. He waited three seconds. When she didn't get back up, he relaxed. Sakura's first fight had lasted a total of ten seconds.

"Hey, thanks for the spar. Now I'm up another rank, nice!"

Sakura let out a groan. Inner flopped down, disgusted. She was #159, and now she wasn't even that anymore.

He looked apologetic. "Hey, don't look so down. Everyone had to start somewhere." He checked the time. "Well, my next spar's in ten minutes. Keep fighting, though!" And he was gone.

 _Ugh_ , Sakura complained. _I can't even hate him. He was so nice._

 _And we are so weak_ , added Inner.

Sakura gave her a mental shove. _Shut up. I know that already._ Sakura felt bleak and hopeless, her hands were shaking and her jaw was on fire. But she would be much, much worse if she stayed the same hesitant Sakura. So she would commit to this training, no matter how much she wanted to go back to her bedroom and her parents' shop and forfeit her upcoming match. She couldn't drag her team down. She couldn't drag herself down. She needed to overcome herself.

For three days, Sakura practiced like hell. She went through katas, went back to Iruka-sensei to ask for tips (and sometimes spars), went on runs over roofs and railings and water to improve reaction time. Then, she went back to spar again.

After a week, Sakura had more than fifty spars under her belt, all failures, and more broken bones and bruises than she ever had in her life. But the next week, she had gotten her first win.

(And a visit to the hospital, but it was a win, nevertheless.)

* * *

.

A/N: Sorry for the late update, and sorry for the lacking characterization. I will get better, just...sorry. I've been practicing a lot, though.

On another note, I read and take into account every one of your reviews. Please tell me what you think :D


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura leapt back.

There was a _schiiick_ as her current opponent pulled out another throwing knife.

The chamber was littered with weapons—kunai, senbon, and shuriken were piled haphazardly onto each other. Each one had been bent, blunted, or rendered useless in some way. Sakura grinned despite the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. This was her longest spar yet, having lasted fifty something minutes. The other kunoichi was rank #140, and if Sakura could win this, she would have enough points to rise to rank #145.

She ducked and raised her own scrapped kunai to deflect the throwing knife. It swung upwards in a wide arc. Sakura leapt upwards, grabbing its handle and sending it back at the kunoichi. They were on their last weapons, and if Sakura played her cards right, they wouldn't even need to go hand to hand.

The kunoichi rushed towards her, deciding it was more advantageous to go close range. Sakura danced out of her reach, snatching her wrist and twisting it. The knife dropped with a clang. The kunoichi simply pulled out another knife, swinging it towards Sakura's arm. Sakura could avoid it, but she would be releasing the kunoichi. She couldn't lose this advantage.

Instead, she raised her other arm to ram it downward into the blade so that it pointed to the ground. The blade had cut deep, but Sakura paid it no mind, twisting the kunoichi's other wrist. Her last knife clattered to the floor. Transferring her two wrists to a one handed hold, Sakura pressed her own last kunai against the kunoichi's collarbone.

Three seconds.

They part. The kunoichi rested a hand on her shoulder, and in her eyes there was respect. The kunoichi didn't really say anything, she's the silent type, and with a shunshin, she's gone.

Their fight had gained a small crowd, and now they came up to Sakura. A few familiar faces congratulated her, and there's some good-natured whining from the others. Apparently her victory had made a lot of the spectators lose money.

Besides providing spars, Training Ground 43 was the betting pool of betting pools, focused on all manner of things from the fights to ranks to competitors' love lives. And if you were _really_ good, like top twenty ranks kind of good, and you fought others in the same range, there would be a sizable chunk of the bet money to take home after every fight.

Sakura is climbing the ranks, slowly, but the spars have eliminated every gap in her defense and even made her develop new defenses, with new gaps which were then tested out in each spar. She was adapting to thinking on her feet. She didn't freeze up anymore. She was catching up to her team.

She collected her share of the bets lost on her, stuffing it in her pocket as she wandered around looking for the medic. The good thing about 43 was that they always had a medic on hand to heal the cuts and bruises. It had been a blessing for Sakura, who didn't need her mother worrying even more. The more serious broken bones and whatnot, though, still had to go to the hospital. _That_ had been a lecture to last a lifetime. Mebuki had the lungs of Inner Sakura, with twice the rage.

Now, her parents thought she spent her days in the library to prepare. Sakura winced. She hated lying to them, but she couldn't spend her days avoiding them trying to sabotage her training. Not to mention their requests for help in the shop. The last time she helped out, she had scared away several customers with her delivery of goods by window. She had forgotten it wasn't the thing to do when one was civilian. It made for a good laugh with her team, but her parents clearly didn't think so.

She finally spotted the medic's telltale silver hair in the crowd.

"Hey, Kabuto! Could you fix this up for me?"

* * *

Sakura looked around the clothing shop. She had hit a growth spurt, what with all the lack of dieting and the increased exercise. Her beloved red dress didn't fit her anymore, and neither did any of her other clothes, really. She had already picked out some shinobi gear, in dark colors so any blood or wounds wouldn't stain, and mending it wouldn't be too obvious. Now she was on the lookout for some civilian wear. She had wandered over to a bright green dress and reached for it when a nimble hand grabbed hers.

"Forehead, you are not wearing that. Sasuke would take one look at that and never look at you again."

"Ino!"

"What, no insult attached?" Ino teased. She paused, squinted at Sakura. "Really, are you okay? You don't look too good."

Sakura probably looked like a hot mess. She had bags under her eyes, hadn't touched a tube of makeup in days, her kunai-sheared hair looked choppy as hell, and she probably had wrinkles from the stress. Ino, though, looked more relaxed than Sakura had ever seen her. She looked happy, and Sakura supposed that she deserved to be. No one on her team had been seriously injured, and Shikamaru was a Nara, he could take care of himself in the finals.

"Sakura? Sakura?" Ino was looking more concerned by the minute.

Sakura waved it off. "I'm fine, Ino-pig."

"There it is. I'm going to choose not to reply to that, like the mature young lady I am. Forehead." Sakura snorted. Ino ignored it. "Is it the Chuunin Exams?"

"…yeah."

"Ugh, well come on then. Put back that hideous dress. It's better to shop together than alone, and this way we can catch up some. Let me tell you, since the preliminaries, Asuma has sat on his ass and done absolutely nothing…"

Sakura went along, falling back into the familiar chatter with Ino. She saw Ino every morning when she went to buy flowers for Lee, but Sakura had always left quickly, hating how awkward it felt. It had never occurred to her that Ino might have wanted to talk. Sakura had only expected lingering resentment and more bickering over Sasuke. Now she felt kind of like a jerk.

She let herself be pulled around by Ino to several boutiques, heart lighter than it had been since making it to Team Seven.

* * *

Sakura was in 43 once more. She had lost track of the number of matches she had, and in her mind, it was a good thing. Deep in the back of her heart, she was glad that neither Naruto nor Sasuke nor Kakashi knew about this place. Somewhere along the way of her blood-sweat-and-tears desperation, determination, and countless failures, she had come to think of these kunoichi and shinobi as her people. Some came only to prove their worth, some to improve, and others to blow off steam. Some never spoke, some chattered a mile a minute, and the rest only talked after a match. All the same, she felt a basic sense of camaraderie with them.

They were the ones who betted on her winning from the start, and the ones who betted on her losing and whose money filled her pockets now. Through trial by blood or endurance, each person there had lifted her that much higher. It was no secret that Sakura was in the Chuunin Exams finals. Some had even promised to go watch it, for her.

Dosu Kinuta might be backed by Orochimaru, but she had her own support, and they had already begun to bet on her chances. She wouldn't disappoint.

* * *

.

A/N: Hi! Thanks for the kind reviews! Please keep telling me your thoughts about and reactions to this fic :D


	8. Chapter 8

After the 145th reminder that ninja work was not for everyone, Sakura decided enough was enough. She reminded herself that this moment had been a long time coming. She stood up at their tiny kitchen table, told her parents exactly what happened in Wave. And that one day, if trouble came to Konoha, it would be far worse than a couple of missing nin.

War and greed, she said, was rarely kind to civilians. The mission to Wave had opened her eyes. She hoped it would open her parents', too. Because in the Academy, she had been spoiled and a brat and just some civilian girl and _so, so alone_. But somewhere along the way, she had found people who would die for her, who would fight to the death alongside her. Somewhere along the way, she had found meaning in her life.

* * *

Sakura had fled to Training Ground 43 again. She had tried several spars, and lost in each one. Her focus was completely shot. So now she was just watching. She had heard rank #29 had challenged rank #25, it was the next match, no holds barred—and bound to be legend.

#29 was a jounin, chatty with a rare affinity for both fire and water jutsu, and it showed in his flame orange hair and dancing blue eyes. He was on the border patrol, and courtesy of that, would drop several ranks before he was off duty again, something he whined endlessly about. Sakura didn't know much about #25. He had risen through the ranks incredibly fast, and he was only one year older than her. Sakura didn't like him. His eyes weren't warm like #29's, but instead were dark and cold. The only person he talked with was a tall guy with blue-gray hair and pale eyes, at rank #23. Maybe they worked together or something.

Personally, Sakura was rooting for #29. She settled down to watch as #29 and #25 dropped down. #29 took a deep breath, hands flying through seals. #25 pulled open a scroll and slashed a line of ink across it. The ink twisted violently off the page, meeting the flame head on.

Sakura's face burned with the heat of the fire. She leaned closer.

Someone next to her laughed quietly. "You're going to fall in, be careful." She hummed, not really registering it. Until the next round of Phoenix Fire Jutsu passed a little too close, and she had to subtly and frantically blow air toward her fringe and eyebrows to put out the fire there. The laughter grew louder, and she tossed a glare over her shoulder. Wait—she did a double take.

He smiled, "Haruno Sakura, right?"

The words fell out. "You really are only an inch taller than me." She resisted the urge to clap a hand over her mouth.

Kenichi twitched. "Uh, rude! I'm still growing."

Sakura cast him a dubious look.

"Anyway, what brought you here? Why join when you're still so young?"

"Ah, Jiraiya of the Sannin told me to come here to train for the Chuunin Exams. He said he sends his best regards."

Kenichi harrumphed. "That old guy. Is he still running around spreading his bad habits? Wait, no, I don't want the answer to that. Why isn't he training you himself then? And what happened to Hatake?"

"Eh, my teammates have the more dangerous matchups. So you guys get me instead." Sakura was still sour over how Kakashi pushed her over to Ebisu. Even worse, Ebisu was a closet pervert who actually got defeated by Naruto's pervert jutsu. He hadn't even put up a fight!

Kenichi laughed again. "Yeah, I've gotten a lot of money riding on your continued success. You're what, #145 now?"

Sakura nodded.

"Hey, you know what, I bet there's gonna be loads of people at the Chuunin Exams who're gonna bet against you. But if you win…"

"Yeah?"

"How confident are you that you're gonna win?"

"My opponent is probably being trained by Orochimaru, so…" Not confident at all, thought Sakura.

"How about if I train you?"

She gave him a slightly disbelieving look.

"What? I can totally train you. I haven't trained anyone else before, but I've trained myself pretty well. I'm a jounin, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, you _are_ a jounin, but what do you _do_?"

"I'm a swordsman. So that's a yes then?" Kenichi ventured.

"…I get half of whatever money you get out of this," said Sakura.

"Forty percent," he haggled.

"Forty-five."

"Ugh, okay," Kenichi dragged that last word out painfully long. "Be here tomorrow by six."

* * *

Sakura met Kenichi at 43 by six, and they took to the rafters of the training hall. Kenichi balanced himself on the intricate network of pipes hanging from the ceiling.

He told her, "Close your eyes, open your mind beyond that visual sense, and listen."

Sakura's world narrowed down to darkness. For a brief moment, it was all that she knew, and she felt the same as she had all those nights on her roof. Like she was disconnected from the world. Then the darkness came alive.

From the boisterous laughter and cheerful shouting she saw ninja both drunk and getting there. The god awful singing that only too much drink could produce. The snap and crackle and roar of fire jutsu. A rain of kunai clattering to the ground. The warm spicy aroma of some ninja setting up a portable grill in the corner. Yeah, that was gonna get them an epic reaming out from Kenichi later.

Below her, a taijutsu match, with the muffled sound of blows being exchanged. Next to them, a weapons match. Judging by the regular crashes that she could feel even from up there, one of them wielded a large sword like the one Zabuza had used.

"Sakura, listen closely. How do you think that sword fight is going?"

Sakura waited for a long moment. "I don't know. All I can hear is a cleaver sword banging around." Inner grumbled, frustrated.

"That's progress already. Keep listening."

Gradually, the cleaver sword slowed its blows. Now and then Sakura could hear a sharp, glancing ring. Then there would be a silence. Then the crash of the sword again. It was all so regular Sakura was desperately trying not to fall asleep.

Then, a series of the ringing chimed in the air, followed by a thump. Sakura waited again. There was no other sound. Kenichi tapped lightly on her shoulder.

"Come on, we're done for today. You can open your eyes now."

Sakura did, and indeed, the match was over, the shinobi long gone. She caught a glimpse of the tall handle of a massive sword before it and its wielder melted into the crowd. The chamber floor had been scored with several long lashes.

"Who do you think won?" Kenichi inquired.

Decisively, Sakura said, "The opponent of the wielder of the cleaver blade. Towards the end the cleaver wielder started lagging, and his opponent likely took advantage of that."

"Mm. Very good, Sakura." Now, Kenichi turned towards her, expression dead serious. "Your first lesson will be one of the most crucial lessons you will ever have. Especially when specializing in the sword, speed will be your best advantage and your worst adversary. We're no Sharingan users—so we have to rely on other senses—the most important being sound. One day, you will be able to read the flow of the battle, to find that gap in defense. It will save your life."

With that statement, Kenichi dropped down. "Same time tomorrow, don't be late!"

"As if!" She returned.

Sakura took a break, avoiding her mother who was out for groceries, and was back at 43 before noon. She watched all the matches of every skill level, fascinated and trying to ingrain the sounds in her mind.

She vowed to drop by some of the jounin training grounds and Ground 44 later.

* * *

When Sakura dropped by where Sasuke was training with Kakashi, they both gave her a weird look.

"Sakura, my cute disciple, you know you are beautiful the way you are, hm?" Kakashi was, as always, the first to start bullshitting.

Sasuke asked, "Sakura, have you been doing fire jutsu?"

Sakura scowled. "No, why?"

Sasuke held up his forehead protector as a mirror for her to see her eyebrows, charred black from #29's Phoenix Fire Jutsu.

Sakura's shriek could be heard from the other side of Konoha.

* * *

.

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the late update! I know I promised to update every few days, but it's been more than a week (ugh). Good thing is, I actually sat down and plotted a lot of things out, so chapters should be coming faster.

Don't forget to leave a review :D

Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke collapsed into the dirt. His entire right arm was numb, and the ringing of a thousand birds lingered in his ears. Kakashi eased his headband back over his sharingan eye and crouched down beside him.

The sun had only just started to set, the street lights flickering on in the distance. The shadows lengthened over Sasuke. Laying there on the chill ground, he felt a familiar sense of emptiness opening up. It happened a lot when his mind wasn't occupied. It was partly the reason why every day, he trained to exhaustion, so when he hit his bed, he would be asleep, no time for rumination.

Some days he felt the emptiness could eat him up. And he felt that for that man to leave him with only his hatred to keep it at bay… it was so much crueler than just letting him rest alongside his fallen clan.

Because he didn't really experience anything else anymore. The hazy days filled with long stretches of happiness were gone, and now he felt like he was forever on the search for it. Even when it came to him, fleeting and light, the emptiness would gape open and take it in. And it would spit out Itachi's voice.

 _Keep living such a pitiful life. If this is all you could do, you will never defeat me._

Nothing he did could satisfy it. No matter what heights he reached, there was always the next peak to strive for. He would imagine often the final battle, where he would finally prove his own worth against Itachi. Most of the time, he would die in the fight, finally at peace. On other nights, though, he would let his mind wander to what would happen if he survived. He thought the emptiness would chase him forever.

He remembered how Fugaku had said to him once, _Uchiha live as they love, with grace and dignity but most importantly, passion. The absence of one would destroy the other._

The lessons of his father had never been more obscure when he had been alive. They had never been truer once he had gone. Only these memories of his clan held him steady to his mission.

* * *

Sometimes he would find himself wandering around Konoha after dark. If he wandered to Naruto's favorite ramen stand and his teammates happened to be there, as empty as him and too tired to pretend, it could only be coincidence. And if the pressure in him eased with Naruto's chatter and Sakura's laughter, no one could call him selfish for going back.

Naruto didn't want to be Hokage. He wanted to be like Sarutobi Hiruzen, with his kindness and happiness and unending support. He wanted to be someone with that kind of strength. He wanted to have a presence other people would have cause to respect. But sometimes he could tell that the old man didn't say the things he really wanted to say. Well, if it was something he did, Naruto should do it too, right? And when the old man told him he should never hate the villagers for the way they hated him, well, he was _super_ old, he had to have a reason, right?

And in the stories the old man told him, no matter how much pain the hero was in, they never showed it. Like how Red had fought anyone who made fun of her hair, like how Yellow had risen to legend despite being a nameless orphan. How they had found happiness.

One day, he would find his own happiness. Naruto had grinned. He only had to hold on until then, no big deal.

Late at night at the ramen stand with Sakura on his left and Sasuke on his right, he thought,

 _Old man, I think all these years have paid off._

* * *

Sakura really, really hated Kenichi. Who really, really loved to torture her.

Sword training right now consisted of Kenichi whacking her with a stick. It was even worse when she couldn't avoid a single blow. Her shins screamed when she threw herself to the side again, and she let loose a string of curse words she learned from Tazuna one time when he was really drunk.

Kenichi looked scandalized, and started to whack her harder. Which only made her curse more. It was a never ending cycle of bullshit, and she said so to his face.

Kenichi pretended not to hear.

After like the one hundredth blow, Sakura lunged straight at Kenichi. She deflected the stick with her arm, ignoring how it felt like a bone had broken. Then turning her wrist and seizing the stick, she broke it in half.

Kenichi gaped. "How…?"

Sakura grinned smugly, wiggling her chakra infused fingers. "Like it? I've been practicing my new chakra exercises." She had actually found a scroll written by Tsunade of the Sannin on her windowsill one day. She had a strong suspicion of who it could be.

Kenichi sank to the dirt, dramatic and despairing.

The next practice, Kenichi brought a metal staff.

Sakura only smirked.

* * *

.

A/N: Please drop me a comment :D


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura stopped. Stared. Then quickly moved on.

Sasuke, who had been hauling three baskets of tomatoes, frowned. Why was Sakura running away?

The vendor happily gave Sasuke his change, telling him to come again soon.

* * *

In the clearing, Sasuke saw Sakura again. "Hey Sakura. What was that earlier?"

Sakura looked uncomfortable. "I…have a bad experience with tomatoes."

Sasuke squinted at her. "Are you serious?"

Her face was completely serious.

There was a silence.

Sasuke felt compelled to make some excuse for his buying habits. "I only bought this much today because my usual vendor had been out for a few weeks already. I wonder if that lady is okay…"

Sakura startled. "…Does that lady happen to have straight purple hair and a really loud voice? Penchant for complaining of genin traveling by roof?"

"Yeah, why?" Sasuke frowned. That was an oddly specific example.

"Nothing."

* * *

.

A/N: Hey there everyone :D

Guess who updated late again ;-; sorry but for a long time I felt disconnected from the characters, and I disliked almost every scene I wrote. I don't think I can continue this fic. But in that time I was gone, I also reviewed the plot (discovering several plotholes in this fic). I read a lot of other fanfic, I started rewriting this fic, and I liked it a lot better.

I've planned out a considerable chunk of the rewritten plot, and it's going to be really epic! Before, I didn't know what to do with this fic, and I just lost all sense of direction and motivation. I think you all deserve to know why I haven't updated, and to have the one scene I wrote that I did like.

The new fic is called "When the day grows dark," and I hope you will consider it :D

Thanks for all your support so far. I know this is the internet and I'm only writing fanfiction, but doing this and receiving all your reviews—it's something that I will never forget. This whole experience has legitimately made me a better writer. I had such a great first time writing for a large audience, and I've gained a lot of confidence during this process :D

So thanks everyone!


End file.
